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Energy firms feeling heat as customers tell of mistrust
Surprise, surprise, we don't trust energy companies.
Why? Apart from ever-rising prices and shoddy service, there have been many cases of mis-selling in recent times, as well as plenty of examples of seemingly deliberately confusing pricing designed to ensure that only the most dedicated customers can track down the best deals.
Consumer group Which? asked people if they trusted their gas and electricity suppliers, and the answer was a resounding no. In fact, the published figures showed that only one in five people trusts suppliers to charge a fair price for their energy, and more than half think it is difficult to compare the prices of different energy deals.
Meanwhile, just one in six consumers trusts energy companies to act in customers' best interests, and only a quarter rate their supplier as good at offering them a fair price.
The results have persuaded the consumer group that customers need a credible, independent benchmark – a price to beat. Which? wants energy suppliers to compete against this price to beat, which would be set and regularly updated by the energy market regulator.
The group has launched a Fair Energy Prices campaign that calls for the Competition and Markets Authority – as part of its current investigation into the energy market – to investigate the best way for the regulator to establish a price to beat so that consumers can trust that the price they pay is actually fair.
Which? said energy suppliers should also be made to use simple, directly comparable pricing – similar to petrol pump displays – so that people can more easily compare prices and make the best choice if they switch.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "The energy market remains at rock bottom for consumer trust. Millions of customers still don't think they're paying a fair price and most people find it hard to compare deals.
"Big reforms are needed to restore confidence in the industry and to guarantee fairer energy prices for consumers.
"The Competition and Markets Authority should now investigate how the independent regulator could establish a price people can trust. That will spur suppliers to compete and reassure worried consumers that they are not being ripped off.
"Energy companies should also use simple pricing to increase confidence in the industry and boost competition by encouraging switching."


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NCR Corp. said it plans to expand its role in the branch, not just the ATM lobby, through its deal for a British software developer.
The Dayton, Ohio, maker of automated teller machines announced last week that it had bought NCI Ltd., whose teller connectivity software is used by financial institutions in North America and Europe. NCR said it plans further development of the British company's NCI Teller Cash Connectivity application, which is used for branch and teller cash recycling.
Bill Nuti, NCR's chairman and chief executive, said in a press release, "Bringing NCI's expertise to NCR demonstrates our commitment to the teller automation market and underlines our intention to enhance NCR's total solution offer."
NCR and other ATM vendors have been promoting cash-recycling systems for use in the branch, saying that the automated devices can improve waiting times in teller lines, reduce cash-handling errors, and ease administrative issues that arise in the daily management of branch-level cash vaults.


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Archive for "stadia" Tag
People Can Fly's looter shooter is out now for all platforms.
The MCU inspired skins will only be unlocked via credit purchases.
Little Nightmares 2 producer Lucas Roussel speaks with GamingBolt about the horror title and the future of the...
Dubai is playable free from today till April 5th.
A number of expansions and new features could be headed to the RPG.
Some more key details for People Can Fly's upcoming looter shooter.
The HD-2D title finally arrives on Xbox.
"We know quality sells and keeps selling for many, many year," says Capcom's Antoine Molant.
Escalations, Elusive Targets, and more will be delivered 4-6 week-long Seasons of Sin.
Patch notes will be shared ahead of its release.
People Can Fly are focused on releasing a complete package, rather than chopping stuff out and releasing it as...
Avengers tries to treat its gaping wounds with a couple of bandages.
Ubisoft is currently working on a more permanent fix.
Crystal Dynamics studio head confirms that he's being worked on though.
A new free mode, Mastery Challenge, is also coming this Spring.
Black Panther, MCU skins, new missions and events, and more are coming.
Clint Barton joins the fight, and heads straight to the end of the world.
The War for Wakanda expansion is coming later this year.
A new cinematic trailer of the game has also been revealed.
Acquire the Hellbreaker and take the fight to the Dark Lord.


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Barnes & Noble (BKS - Free Report) stock received a jolt on Tuesday morning after reports surfaced that an activist investor is pushing the struggling bookstore giant to sell.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Monday night that Sandell Asset Management Corp. began purchasing more stake in Barnes & Noble, despite already being among the chains 10 largest investors, in order to push for a sale.
After jumping in pre-market trading, shares of Barnes & Noble were up 10.92% in morning trading on Tuesday. Yet, even at its intraday high of $8.00 per share, the struggling bookstore chain rests nearly $5 below its 52-week high.
However, in a time when Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) dominates far more than the book market it began to take over years ago, the activist investor group Sandell believes Barnes & Noble is still valuable. According to a Sandell letter, the firm projects that the bookstore company could possibly draw a $12 per share bid.
The company thinks Barnes & Noble has the potential to stay around even as brick-and-mortar companies continue to vanish. "It is our contention that physical books, and physical bookstores, are not going away anytime soon,” Sandell said in a letter to the Barnes & Noble board.
“What makes the under-valuation of Barnes & Noble all the more shocking is that, as opposed to the numerous other national apparel, footwear, grocery, and home furnishing chains abounding in this country, there is but one truly national bookstore chain.”
Talks of a possible Barnes & Noble sale began years back and ramped up in 2011 when Borders, its rival national bookstore chain, liquidated and closed completely. But a sale never came, and since July 2015, the company’s stock has plummeted from $17 per share.
Sandell’s note also referred to the retail book giant as “beachfront property that may hold significant strategic value to internet or media companies seeking a retail presence.”
The letter quoted Thomas Jefferson, Kurt Vonnegut, and others about the importance of books. But investors are more likely to care more about the fact that Sandell believes Barnes & Noble's is undervalued today, and that they are pushing the board of directors to strongly consider selling the company.
The firm’s claims correspond with Zacks’ current outlook on the bookstore chain. Barnes & Noble is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and scored an “A” for both Value and Growth, as well as a “B” for Momentum, in our Style Scores system.
More Stock News: Tech Opportunity Worth $386 Billion in 2017
From driverless cars to artificial intelligence, we've seen an unsurpassed growth of high-tech products in recent months. Yesterday's science-fiction is becoming today's reality. Despite all the innovation, there is a single component no tech company can survive without. Demand for this critical device will reach $387 billion this year alone, and it's likely to grow even faster in the future.
Zacks has released a brand-new Special Report to help you take advantage of this exciting investment opportunity. Most importantly, it reveals 4 stocks with massive profit potential. See these stocks now>>


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The customer is king. Except when it comes to fashion, according to The New York Times’ fashion director and chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman.
The fashion industry is in the midst of upheaval. Consumers are demanding to get their hands on products as soon as they see them. Luxury designers from Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, and Alexander Wang, to name a few, have responded by shifting their production schedules, or some elements within it, to offer see-now-buy-now straight off the runway.
Friedman, a former the fashion editor at the Financial Times who’s written for Vogue and Vanity Fair, joined this week’s Glossy Podcast to discuss the changing nature of storytelling across multiple platforms, how brands shouldn’t be too quick to listen to consumer demands, and how fashion still needs to lead.
Edited highlight below.
Customers aren’t always right
The brand shift towards see-now-buy-now has arguably occurred because of consumer demand. Increasingly, if a customer sees something — whether in social media or the fashion press — they want to be able to buy it right away, not the next season.
Friedman argues if brands listen to their customers too much, they lose a sense of authority and their ability to lead, which is what high-end fashion houses have traditionally done with trends. The time between showing a collection and making it available for people to buy it is about giving consumers time to absorb a trend, she said.
“Just because in one moment a consumer says something, I don’t think it’s necessarily the right reason to change an entire business model. If you listen too much to what people want you can’t lead them and that’s what you should be doing as a company.”
It’s too soon to tell if see-now-by-now will pay off
It’s the million dollar question on brands minds: Will a shift in business model pay off? Friedman said it’ll be at least a season before brands will really be able to tell whether it paid off financially.
“Of course someone is going to get a bump in sales the day after a show. Whether that continues in such a way that actually creates a bigger revenue growth than it would have if it was on the traditional calendar, is unclear to anyone,” adding if it is successful, and Burberry, Tom Ford and Tommy Hilfiger say they’ve seen high returns from their changes, more brands will follow.
Finding the medium for the message
Every medium has a role to play in journalism and Friedman was quick to point out newspapers still play an important part for fashion. During the most recent fashion weeks around the world, Friedman had to file stories, as well as handle the Times’ Snapchat account, which gave viewers a glimpse into the long hours fashion weeks often entail. (There were a few snaps of her filing at 5 a.m.). Figuring out the best way to tell each story has been the hardest challenge in a shift to digital, she said.
“As a journalist you have a responsibility to do a different job,” she said about the difference writing for a newspaper compared to a magazine. “You need to get different kinds of information from the different places you visit.”


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Opening markets will remove barriers to EA food security
Recent food shortages in Kenya brought on by fluctuations in climate patterns resulted in the importation of tens of thousands of tonnes of maize from the international market this past year, mainly Mexico and southern Africa, to manage the crisis.
Tanzania responded by imposing a ban on maize exports in order to strengthen food security and mitigate price inflation for their citizens.
This ban has recently been lifted due to bumper harvests and follows an assessment on the current food stock against the National Food Reserve Agency’s budget for maize purchase.
Meanwhile, Uganda struggled to produce enough maize to export to Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DRC. Arguably export bans lead to increased informal grain trade, with most of this data going unrecorded, leaving smallholder farmers more vulnerable to exploitation.
The Kenyan maize deficit highlights the impact non-tariff barriers have on the East and Southern African (ESA) region by limiting the free flow of food.
Despite Africa having great potential to produce sufficient and even surplus basic staple foods, it has over the last several decades witnessed a surge in imports with the annual food import bill in excess of $40 billion (Sh4.2 trillion).
Whenever some countries in the ESA region have surplus, there are others in deficit, creating opportunities for inter-regional trade.
It is notable that many governments in the region appear to favour in-country protection of food reserves for food security.
However, since most food products are tradable on world markets, food security is heavily dependent on the purchasing power of the poor and not only on management of domestic supply.
These protectionist tendencies have negative implications on the region’s food security and shifts in government agricultural policy on regional trade and domestic food price controls can at times be ad hoc.
For instance, it is not uncommon for farmers who arrive at a border to find that a government has imposed an unannounced export ban, or sometimes a ban has been removed but customs officials have not been informed.
A wide range of barriers to trade have resulted in the fragmentation of markets for both agricultural products and their inputs. This has led to a high level of price volatility and has contributed to food insecurity.
In countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe where governments have directly intervened to control prices of staple food crops, prices are more volatile than in countries with fully liberalised food markets like Uganda.
Other policy distortions include subsidies, price or income support and regulations that tend to discourage private sector investment in services that smallholder farmers need. Besides protectionist government policies, there are other factors that equally frustrate intra-African trade.
Key among them is the lack of formal trade channels supporting smallholder farmers who represent 80 per cent of farms in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and contribute up to 90 per cent of food production in some countries.
Smallholder farmers in Africa are prevented from taking advantage of existing and emerging opportunities such as rapidly rising urban populations and growth in per capita incomes that are driving vigorous growth in domestic and regional market demand for food.
They can only access poorly regulated markets that often have no regard to grades and standards, traceability and competitive pricing mechanisms, which all depress the value farmers receive for their produce.
Ways of opening up markets Contract farming is emerging as one way to open up markets for smallholder farmers. The arrangements ensure that buyers have access to more reliable, and higher quality products to meet current and growing demands.
Farmers on their part have a guaranteed market for their produce and an assured price. Consequently, farmers realise increased and reliable income from greater volume sold and higher prices due to improved quality and more control over timing of sale.
Although there is some controversy surrounding the exploitative nature of some market intermediaries, this group is the most accessible market channels for most smallholder farmers.
It is estimated that over 60 per cent of maize farmers sell their produce directly to trade intermediaries at the farm gate. However, these market intermediaries face a host of challenges and risks that in some instances contribute to the low prices they offer the producers.
According to the World Bank, the costs incurred to transport produce from the farm to a primary market is on average four times higher than transporting the same quantities from the primary market to the wholesale market.
By working with grant beneficiaries, the UK-funded Food Trade East and Southern Africa programme has demonstrated to governments that private sector off-takers have capacity to provide markets and better prices to thousands of farmers when there are no policy restrictions to trading.
Africa has enough food to feed itself but for that to happen we need to address these non-tariff barriers.
Steve Orr is Team Leader, FoodTrade ESA.


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Mojang Studios, a Minecraft developer, is strongly against NFTs. The studio, which is owned Microsoft, stated that integrations of NFTs into Minecraft were not something they would support or allow.
Mojang stated that blockchain technologies were not allowed to be integrated into our client or server applications. “To ensure that Minecraft users have a safe, inclusive experience, neither may Minecraft in-game content like worlds, skins and persona items be used by blockchain technology to create an exclusive digital asset.”
Mojang claims that some companies have developed “NFT implementations” that can be associated with Minecraft world files, skin packs, and other Minecraft-related items. The studio also suggested that NFTs could be made “collectible” by Minecraft players. Players could earn NFTs from playing Minecraft on a server or outside of the game.
Mojang claims that these practices promote digital scarcity and exclusion which is against Minecraft’s values. The studio stated that NFTs “are not inclusive of all of our community and create an environment of the haves versus the have-nots”. Mojang adds that NFTs’ speculative nature “encourages profiteering.”
The blog post is worth reading in its entirety. It outlines many of the criticisms of NFTs as well as blockchain projects in a clear and understandable language. There are many more quotes I could have added.
Valve has also taken a hard stance against NFTs and blockchain games on Steam. Most of the gaming community has rejected NFTs. Ubisoft has stopped making NFTs to Ghost Recon Breakpoint only a few months following the launch of the initiative. Epic Games stated last year that it is “open” for blockchain games on Epic Games Store. The store received the first blockchain-based game in June.
Mojang does not completely rule out the possibility of blockchain being integrated into Minecraft in the future. However, it states that they have no plans to implement blockchain technology into Minecraft at the moment.


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By Josefa Velasquez
Pushback against adding a banking chip to new IDNYC cards intensified Thursday, with a demand from immigration, civil liberties and consumer groups to scrap the effort and introduction of a City Council bill to block it.
The coalition of groups — which include the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Aid Society, New York Immigration Coalition, New Economy Project and Make the Road New York — warned that the privacy risks of adding a smart chip to the municipal identification cards would “outweigh any purported benefits.”
“If implemented, the proposed changes to IDNYC would facilitate unprecedented, wide-scale data collection about New Yorkers’ travel, spending, and other activities,” the coalition wrote in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, sent on Thursday.
The signatories called the proposed changes to IDNYC “antithetical to the program’s original purpose and scope.”
The groups opposing the tech-powered cards argue that the smart chips could expose vulnerable people to increased surveillance, including by immigration authorities.
“Even if well-intended, connecting this kind of technology and data to vulnerable New Yorkers’ identification cards would expose people to serious risks — including dangerous experimentation or misuse by current or future administrations and private vendors,” the letter said.
Also on Thursday, Councilmember Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) introduced a measure that would bar the ID cards from containing hidden information or any transmission technology.
“IDNYC works because New Yorkers trust it. However, the mayor’s plan to add a smart chip to the card is dangerous and will not only undermine its past success, but also jeopardize its future,” Menchaca told THE CITY.
The Council member had held an IDNYC oversight hearing in February at which he raised concerns over privacy and security for cardholders but did not then object to the payment-chip plan.
Pledge to Protect Privacy
First introduced by de Blasio in 2015, IDNYC has received extensive promotion from city government agencies as a safe form of identification of particular benefit to undocumented New Yorkers unable to access state-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses.
In May 2018, the city Human Resources Administration advertised its interest in modifying the existing IDNYC cards to include an EMV chip, like those found on debit and credit cards, to provide financial services. Bidders had until January to submit their proposals.
The administration aimed to launch the new chip-powered cards on Jan. 1, 2020, as the first IDNYCs come up for renewal.
Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that the transmitters the de Blasio administration is hoping to include in the IDNYC cards would pose a “grave risk.”
“While people are going about their daily lives, the content of their cards — or the fact that they’re carrying an IDNYC — could be read from a third party law enforcement agency, a federal immigration agency, or a malicious actor that wants to identify what kind of card someone is carrying with them,” Schwarz said. “And that risk really exists irrespective of the encryption methodology used.”
Bitta Mostofi, the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, said in a statement that the administration is continuing to “explore ways to expand the utility” of the IDNYC cards.
“We have always held the highest standard of privacy and security protections and no decisions will be made that would change that. We will continue to work with the City Council, community stakeholders, and our cardholders to develop solutions that work,” Mostofi added.
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs spokesperson Nicole Chin-Lyn said she could give no updates about the process of selecting a company to take charge of the chip: “As with all procurement processes, we cannot comment on the names and nature of the bids.”
The winning firm would be responsible for maintaining customer accounts and protecting their privacy.
The bid solicitation nonetheless anticipates situations in which the card-chip company may receive a subpoena seeking customer information — and would then have to notify city officials “to potentially provide an opportunity for the City to intervene to protect cardholder information.”
A Deputy Mayor’s Dream
The IDNYC banking chip proposal was spearheaded by Deputy Mayor J. Phillip Thompson, who as a professor at MIT had received funding from MasterCard to research the potential of debit card technology to provide financial services to underserved communities.
On leave from MIT for the duration of his service to the de Blasio administration, Thompson has touted his MasterCard-sponsored work as demonstrating the potential for an IDNYC payment chip to improve New Yorkers’ economic prospects.
Speaking at a conference at the City University of New York in April, he described being approached by a representative from “a large financial services company who said the company wants to become a social justice company” and telling him “we have to become popular with poor people if we’re going to grow.”
Thompson then worked to put a payment chip on the membership cards of a Massachusetts union, he said, using it to collect not only dues but also information about what members purchased.
The deputy mayor suggested such a card could be used to bargain bulk consumer purchases or to make payments toward community organizing campaigns, adding: “In this way, we could get real money to build civic infrastructure with no strings attached.”
For the last several months, advocacy groups — some of which were instrumental in creating IDNYC — have been meeting with the mayor’s office to discuss concerns over the chip. But questions over privacy and security are “still unanswered,” Menchaca said.
City Hall’s plan to partner with a financial technology company on IDNYC has been met with resistance not only from groups concerned about immigrants’ security but also organizations working on expanding access to banking services for low-income New Yorkers.
Among the signatories of the letter to the mayor are the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union and the New Economy Project. The letter calls the financial technology industry “notorious for data breaches” and warns of “a business model that relies on the collection and sale of people’s personal data.”
Additionally, it observes that fintech companies do not have to follow the same federal regulations and consumer protections as banks and credit unions.
Says the letter: “By steering undocumented and low income New Yorkers to these entities, the city would be perpetuating, not resolving, inequality in our banking system and potentially facilitating IDNYC cardholders’ exploitation.”


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Malaysia-based auto dealership operator MeGroup said on Friday that it received a letter of award from the official distributor of Peugeot brand vehicles in Malaysia, Nasim Sdn. Bhd., to operate a third Peugeot dealership there.
The dealership will be a 3S level, based in Setia Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, it said in a filing to SGX on Friday. A 3S dealership offers the sale of new autos, after-sales services and sells auto parts and accessories.
It is expected to begin operations on 2 January, it said.
Wong Cheong Chee, executive chairman and CEO of MeGroup, said the new dealership would help the company expand the contribution from the Peugeot brand.
“Beyond having a good relationship with our principals, the expansion in our dealership business is based on our ability to meet their stringent standards in terms of the quality of our services,” Wong said. “Our plans to steadily expand our dealership business are underway.”
MeGroup owns and operates several 3S and 4S automobile dealerships to sell new vehicles in Malaysia under the Honda, Mazda and Peugeot brands. A 4S dealership offers the 3S services and has additional services for auto body paintwork and collision repair, it said.
The company also manufactures noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) components and non-NVH components, mainly for the auto industry in Malaysia.


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The COLLIDER Digital Production Conference and NYU announce a survey to gauge current attitudes and perceptions among visual effects industry artists and professionals, with the results to be revealed at the June 10 VFX Town Hall meeting.
TheCOLLIDER Digital Production Conference and NYU are conducting a survey to gauge current attitudes and perceptions among visual effects industry artists and professionals.
This joint COLLIDER/NYU survey is designed to tap more into the emotional response VFX worker have towards the current crisis in the VFX industry. It will complement the online, real-time survey about trends in business practices and workplace conditions that will take place during the Town Hall meeting.
The survey is ongoing through 11:59PM EDT, June 9, 2013. The findings will be presented on the evening of June 10 during the VFX Town Hall: COLLIDER 2013, which kicks off at 6:00PM EDT at the COLLIDER conference venue. The event will feature a distinguished panel of industry experts discussing the current state of the visual effects industry.
In addition to a panel of experts on stage in New York, VFX Town Hall: COLLIDER 2013 will also feature a Google+ Hangout session with representatives from major VFX production centers around the world taking part, including Sydney, London, Berlin, Mexico City and others.
Moderated by veteran 2D compositor and visual effects artist Mariana Acuña – known to many as @vfxchick on Twitter and moderator of an earlier VFX town hall held this last Pi Day (March 14) – the discussion will provide a forum for all viewpoints and will include the following panelists:
- Scott Ross,Co-Founder, Digital Domain
- Eric Robertson,EP/Owner, Mr. X Gotham
- Yana Lehman,Founder, Post New York Alliance (PNYA)
- Cecilia Fredericks,National Business Agent, IATSE 829
- Robin Shenfield,CEO, The Mill
- Michelle Higa Fox,Founder/CD Slanted Studio
For those not attending the VFX Town Hall, the event will also be live-streamed at: http://collider.circles.io/
Source: COLLIDER Conference
Jennifer Wolfe is Director of News & Content at Animation World Network.


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Published on September 13th, 2013 | by Mark Smith
Content Deal Signed between BetSoft Gaming and Fun88
Leading online gambling software and 3D slot developer, BetSoft Gaming, has signed a content deal to enhance the online gaming operator, Fun88’s product offering with its entire suite of Slots3 and ToGo portfolio of mobile titles and new Slots3 Interactive games.
Betsoft will make these games available across numerous Fun88 websites and is anticipating that this will enhance game awareness and international brand of its own innovative and top-notch offerings.
Fun88 is using the new products to attract new customers across its Asian markets where BetSoft 3D has already gained popularity.
According to Adam Daniel, BetSoft’s Director of Business, as they move forward in developing the 3D games that will define the future of iGaming, Fun88 can rest assured that they will continue leading the competitive Asian market by always offering fresh, cutting edge entertainment to their customers.
A Director at Fun88, Nathan Walker, said that their customers will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a completely new gaming experience with the new launch.


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this is c/net, and here are the stories that matter right now.
Some crucial iPhone eight details may have surfaced thanks to leaked firmware for Apple's forthcoming home pod, smart speaker.
Developers that have been examining the code have come across information that might outline the general look and shape of the phone, and also also suggests it will in fact contain facial recognition Apple is staying mum on the news, but an announcement is likely within the next few months.
HBO's the latest entertainment company to get hacked.
As Entertainment Weekly reports, up to 1.5 terabytes of data was stolen from the company, including an episode of Ballers and Room 104, plus possible script or plot information from next week's Game of Thrones episode.
HBO told its employees it's addressing the situation.
And finally, AMD is looking to challenge GPU maker in [UNKNOWN] in the world of high-end pc gaming.
The company has announced a new round of Radeon GPUs with varying And power, all under the RX Vega family, and says they'll be available August 14th, starting at $399.
You can stay up to date with the latest by downloading the CNET Tech Today app in the Apple or Google Play store.


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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Tuesday took the Investor Education Enlightenment Campaign on e-Dividend Registration to the ancient city of Kano with a view to mobilize the investing and the general public towards the value of e-Dividend Registration which is currently on-going in the country.
The Enlightenment exercise reached thousands of Kano people as they massively came out from their houses, shops and business places to digest the information being disseminated via fliers, stickers and interfacing with the audience in various languages which include Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo with radio campaigns.
e-Dividend is a service which allows an issuer to electronically pay cash dividend entitlements directly into the shareholders bank account.
Director General, Munir Gwarzo had recently said that the Commission aims to attract more retail investors into the Nigerian capital market in its determination to deepen and develop the market.
Gwarzo said that this is one of the reasons why the Commission has embarked on various initiatives line e-Dividend, Direct Cash Settlement, National Investors Protection Fund (NIPF) among others to attract retail investors to the Market.
We have pursued a lot of initiatives in the last year and we are pursuing more this year. We are taking it from a perspective that this market has never witnessed and the perspective is to address some of the lingering complaints of the investor. We believe that the retail investors are the owners of this market so our strategy should focus on them, He said.
As a country we have only less than 2% participation of retail investors in our market. Malaysia has 9%, South Africa 19%, USA 43%, and UK 13%. So our market is highly less being participated by the retail investors.
Due to the dominance of the foreign investors, anytime they move out of the market the market goes down. Our effort is to see that in the next 5-10 years we raise the level of involvement of the retail investor to at least 5%.
Gwarzo said the Commission has identified some of the challenges hindering the retail investor from accessing the market and believes tackling these challenges through the recent initiatives by the Commission would be very productive.
During the Kano campaign, the public were mobilized and informed that they could collect registration form the bank within the next 90 days after which a fee of N100 will be charged by banks for registration.
The campaign started from Airport Road through Murtala Muhammed Way, Bello Road, Ibrahim Taiwo, IBB Way k/Mazugal as well France Road.


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Samsung is gearing up for the Galaxy Awesome Unpacked 2021. The company is expected to launch the Samsung Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 at the event on March 17. Specifications and features of both devices have leaked multiple times in the past. A day ahead of the event, renders and key specifications of the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy A72 have leaked online. Tipster Evan Blass has leaked the specifications and features of both devices. As per the leaked information, the Galaxy A72 will come with a 3x optical zoom. The report also reveals that the Samsung Galaxy A52 will feature an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. Let’s take a look at the Samsung Galaxy A72, Galaxy A52 specifications and design renders leaked ahead of the launch.
Samsung Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72 specifications and design renders leaked ahead of March 17 launch
Samsung is gearing up for the Samsung Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 launch. Ahead of the Galaxy Awesome Unpacked 2021 event, specifications of the two devices have leaked.
Tipster Evan Blass has uploaded the design renders and specs of the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72. The Galaxy A52 will come in 4G and 5G models, whereas the Galaxy A72 will come with 4G support. It was previously tipped that the 4G variant of the A52 will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC, whereas the 5G variant will come with a Snapdragon 750G processor.
Samsung Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72 specifications
The renders confirm some of the previously leaked information. Both devices will feature a quad-camera setup on the back. The Galaxy A52 will come with a 64MP primary camera with OIS. It will also feature a 12MP ultrawide, a 5MP macro lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. The Samsung Galaxy A72 is likely to have the same specs, except that the 5MP macro could be replaced by an 8MP telephoto lens. Blass’ leak reveals that the device will support a 3x optical zoom.
The Galaxy A52 will have a 4,500 mAh battery. The Galaxy A72 will pack a 5000 mAh battery. We can expect the phones to come with 25W fast charging support.
The Galaxy A52 will have a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display. The 4G model is tipped to feature a 90Hz display, whereas the 5G model will come with a 120Hz refresh rate screen. The phone will come with 6GB RAM and run Android 11 on top of One UI 3.1 out of the box.
The Galaxy A72 will have a 6.7-inch screen. Both Infinity-O displays will have a hole-punch cutout on the top-centre. It will also get powered by a Snapdragon 720G processor under the hood. The Galaxy A72 was listed on the Google Play Console. The listing revealed that the phone will come with 6GB/ 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. On the software front, the smartphone will run Android 11 out-of-the-box with Samsung’s own One UI 3.0. For selfies and video-calling, the smartphone might sport a 32MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture.
Lastly, the phones are confirmed to come with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. MySmartPrice exclusively leaked the Samsung Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 price in India ahead of the launch.
Samsung Galaxy A52 price in India
The Galaxy A52 India price will start at Rs 26,499 for the base 6GB + 128GB variant. The 8GB + 128GB variant will launch in India for Rs 27,999.
The two storage variants will have the model number SM-A525FG AND SM-A525FH.
Samsung is likely to skip the 5G model and launch the Galaxy A52 with 4G network support.
Samsung Galaxy A72 price in India
The Galaxy A72 India price will start at Rs 34,999. Users will get 8GB + 128GB storage for the price. The Galaxy A72 will also launch in an 8GB + 256GB variant priced at Rs 37,999.


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MILAN Euro zone governments can help the European Central Bank raise interest rates sooner if they loosen their own purse strings to support the economy, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Friday.
Mailand Der frühere italienische Ministerpräsident Matteo Renzi will im Parlament eine neue Fraktion der Mitte anführen und diese von der regierenden Demokratischen Partei (PD) abspalten.
MARANELLO, Italy, Sept 9 Italy's Ferrari
showed off two new cars on Monday as it pursues an
aggressive roll-out of new premium models to sustain
turbo-charged core earnings and share price growth.
MARANELLO, Italy, Sept 9 Ferrari will
reveal its latest sports car on Monday as the Italian premium
automaker pursues an aggressive roll-out of new models to
sustain its turbo-charged core earnings and share price growth.
MILAN Industrial vehicle maker CNH Industrial has decided to split in two and list its truck, bus and engine division in an effort to boost asset values and streamline its businesses.
MILAN Shares in Ferrari went into reverse on Friday as the Italian luxury carmaker failed to lift its guidance for 2019 despite strong results in the first part of the year.
MILAN Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its RAM pick-up brand in North America helped it to defy an industry slowdown. | Video
TURIN, Italy Fiat Chrysler (FCA) plans to spend 700 million euros ($788 million) to take the Fiat 500 electric as the carmaker moves on from its failed $35 billion bid to merge with France's Renault , a pioneer in electric vehicles.
PARIS/MILAN France was battling to defend its business strategy on Thursday after being blamed for scuppering a $35 billion (27.57 billion pounds)-plus merger between carmakers Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Renault only 10 days after the plan was officially announced. | Video


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New research shows nearly three in five consumers reported that they have not yet received a new chip-enabled card. Also, 67% indicated they have not received information from their credit card issuer or bank explaining what EMV means and how it will impact them.
U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems has ankled Jeffrey Jones as president, succeeding Kurt Adams, who left the bank earlier this month. A 32-year U.S. Bank veteran, Jones has been head of its Global Treasury Management group since 2001. His appointment is effective today.
MasterCard is actively involved in the International Day of Peace for today September 21st. Many companies are donating television and digital media channels to drive support for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the frontline agency fighting hunger.
As payment networks mull facilitating transactions from automobiles there are security concerns now being aggressively addressed. Giesecke & Devrient and IBM are teaming up to work on a new connected vehicle security solution with the intent to make car hacks much more difficult in the future.
edo Interactive and Rewards Network inked a multi-year partnership to market Rewards Network’s 11,000 participating restaurants to over 40 million cardholders in edo’s Prewards network.
ShopKeep has acquired Ambur, an iPad and iPhone point of sale system for more than 1,500 restaurants. Also, ShopKeep ankled Andrew Gorrin as the company’s new Chief Marketing Officer.
Fiserv, has developed a robust EMV Education and Marketing Program to prepare financial institutions as well as aid in cardholder awareness and comfort with a new payment experience.
CardWeb.com’s CardExecs database of payments industry movers and shakers today features Bryan Murphy, President of YapStone.
CardWeb.com’s CardData database of Company Profiles today features SailPointTechnologies.
PayItSimple has completed integration with an additional 30 payment gateways in the United States and the United Kingdom. With the addition of these gateways, PayItSimple is now integrated with all of the major payment gateways in these two countries.
First Data has ankled Himanshu Patel as Chief Financial Officer. Patel has served as First Data’s Executive Vice President of Strategy, Planning & Business Development since June 2013.
DonorPerfect, developer of the world’s first CRM Fundraising App for iPhones and Android, announced the introduction of DPMobile Swipe. DonorPerfect clients can collect payments anywhere, from the office to a donor’s home, to a fundraising event, via the DPMobile app on their phones and tablets.


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SUMMIT, NJ - The substance of three potential City ordinances -- which, when combined, would aim to restrict the use of single-use plastics in the Hilltop City -- will be reviewed in a quartet of public workshops conducted by the City of Summit on October 7 and 17.
The proposed ordinances would be introduced at the November 6 Summit Common Council meeting with a public hearing and opportunity for comments on the November 18 Summit Common Council meeting.
Two workshop sessions will be conducted each of the two days: on October 7 and 17 from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. The October 7 meetings will be held in the Whitman Community Room at City Hall, located at 512 Springfield Avenue. The October 17 workshops will be held at the Summit Community Center, located at 100 Morris Avenue. Residents, along with representatives from interested businesses and property owners are invited and encouraged to attend.
The first ordinance would prohibit use of single-use plastic bags by businesses at the point of purchase. The second ordinance is a ban on polystyrene -- commonly known as Styrofoam -- food containers. The third ordinance would limit businesses to provide plastic straws only upon request by customers.
During the workshop sessions, City and elected officials will be present to answer questions and obtain input from the business and residential communities on the development of the ordinances.
The proposed ordinance limiting use of plastic bags allows exemptions for certain purposes:
A. Produce or product bags, whether plastic or not, in which loose or bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candies, or small hardware items, are placed by a consumer to deliver such items to the point of sale or check out area of a retail establishment;
B. Laundry or dry cleaning bags;
C. Newspaper bags;
D. Bags used to contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether packaged or not;
E. Bags used to contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where dampness may be an issue;
F. Bags used to contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods; or
G. Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as food storage bags, garbage bags, yard waste bags, or pet waste bags.
Exemptions for the proposed ordinance limiting the distribution of plastic straws are as follows:
A. Pre-packaged drinks sold or distributed by a Food Provider.
B. Use by individuals with a disability or other impairment requiring use of plastic straw.
C. Non-plastic alternatives to plastic beverage straws.
For the proposed ordinance restricting use of polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam):
Raw or Prepared Foods prepared or packaged outside the City of Summit are exempt from provisions of the ordinance. However, vendors of food prepared or packaged outside of the City of Summit are encouraged to comply with the provisions of the ordinance.
“These proposed restrictions on single-use plastics like other initiatives undertaken by the City need to be an inclusive process,” said Summit Mayor Nora Radest. “Before ordinances are considered by Common Council, it is imperative that we gather community feedback. Please consider attending a workshop session on October 7 or October 17.”


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Recently in India people have started using digital banking, like people are transferring money online and stuff. So basically it is called as upi payments and paytm is India’s largest platform for upi payments. It also claims to have around 171.3 million transactions in the month of February 2018.
This figure means that there is 13.5% development in the upi transactions compared to previous month. This data was not released by paytm, but it was released by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
This is the agency that runs all the upi payments platform in India and it’s a government agency.
Recently in Twitter, a microblogging website the company’s senior vice president tweeted that. In just two months of its launch paytm has obtained the top spot for upi payments and transactions.
He also mentioned that soon it will have the largest contribution in upi payments and transactions then everyone combined.
The mobile wallet had claimed that it had recorded 68 million transactions alone in February 2018. This number will account for 40% of India’s total upi payments and transactions.
It also said that in January 2018 it had clocked 51.2 million up payments and transactions and in December 2017 it was 37 million.
WhatsApp UPI Payments
WhatsApp a Facebook-owned company launched its payment feature in February 2018 and at the moment it’s a beta version.
The founder of paytm Vijay Shekhar Sharma had lashed out in NPCI for being partial towards this WhatsApp feature. As WhatsApp is a messaging platform, he claimed that WhatsApp payments have a lot of security flaws.
Even the worlds largest search engine Google had launched a upi payment based app called Tez in September 2017. Surely the competition is tough for paytm as the Global giants like Facebook and Google are opening the UPI app.
Now it’s up to the companies that how they will improvise so that they will maintain an edge with the upi payments and the transactions


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Speech by FS at Hong Kong Competition Exchange 2018 opening ceremony (English only) (with photos/video)
Anna (Chairperson of the Hong Kong Competition Commission, Ms Anna Wu), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It's my honour to be here for the opening of the Hong Kong Competition Exchange.
I'm told that there are more than 250 of you from some 20 countries and regions, coming from competition agencies and businesses, the legal community, academia and government. It is our pleasure to have you all to be here today, and tomorrow, as high-profile representatives of the international competition community.
Welcome to Hong Kong. You have, I assure you, come to the right place. Our population is only about 7.4 million, and we have few resources to speak of. And yet Hong Kong has long been one of the world's top trading economies and a leading international financial centre, alongside London and New York. We're also fast emerging as an innovation and technology hub.
There are good reasons for our lofty place in the global economy. Our unique "one country, two systems" arrangement is certainly central to our success. Among many other things, it has made possible our unique and growing role as the business bridge between the Mainland and the rest of the world. Our advantages also include Hong Kong's long-standing embrace of free enterprise and the endless adaptability of Hong Kong business.
And then there are the people of Hong Kong. We have had no choice but to meet, and beat, a world of competition. International competition has, in short, given Hong Kong its edge.
I'm hardly alone in trumpeting our competitive culture. This year, Hong Kong was ranked second, globally, in the International Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Yearbook. We topped two of the Yearbook's four main focus areas, "government efficiency" and "business efficiency".
In this year's Global Competitiveness Index, run annually by the World Economic Forum, Hong Kong finished seventh among some 140 economies. We placed second, I should add, in four key areas: infrastructure, ICT adoption, financial system, and product market, which includes trade openness.
Earlier this year, the Heritage Foundation, which has named Hong Kong the world's freest economy for the past 24 years, had this to say about Hong Kong when releasing its latest "Index of Economic Freedom" report, and I quote: "An exceptionally competitive financial and business hub, Hong Kong remains one of the world's most resilient economies. A high-quality legal framework provides effective protection of property rights and strongly supports the rule of law." The Foundation also added: "Regulatory efficiency and openness to global commerce undergird a vibrant entrepreneurial climate."
For Hong Kong, in short, free trade and competition are at the heart of our continuing success in the global economy.
Unfortunately, that combination is finding unexpected headwinds elsewhere. Protectionism and other uncompetitive practices are rising. Last month, the heads of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development came together at the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank in Bali to defend global trade, to speak out about the importance of upholding a vigorous and healthy competitive environment for business.
I'm sure this conference, its notable speakers and panel discussions, will echo that message.
Regulation is vital to the effective operation of trade and markets. That said, regulators, and governments, must remember that the primary objective of business is not to uphold freedom but to realise commercial advantage.
They must ensure that no business can use an advantage to exclude other businesses or obscure public interest.
Such effort requires continuing vigilance. This is the reason that bodies such as the Hong Kong Competition Commission have been established.
Enabling competition requires a clear understanding of its meaning. There cannot be fair competition, for example, if competitors distort markets through cartels, or if a dominant player wins by forcing its competitors out of the market or using artificial barriers to prevent prospective competitors from entering.
Such distortions stifle the competitive process. Any short-term gains come at great expense: as an invisible tax on other businesses, and on the public, who end up paying more for fewer choices and inferior products and services.
A competitive culture, on the other hand, upholds the principle that competition is about outperforming rivals through efficiency, innovation and other legitimate means. A workable competition law enforces clear rules to ensure such an outcome.
Hong Kong's Competition Ordinance came into full force just three years ago. The Ordinance promotes competition and prohibits anti-competitive practices in the marketplace.
The Competition Commission was established under the Ordinance.
Despite its short history, the Commission has achieved several milestones, including taking a number of anti-competitive cases to court. Enforcement attracts attention. And both the business sector and the general public in Hong Kong are, I'm pleased to say, increasingly aware of the Ordinance - and the Commission behind it.
The Commission's initial cases have included bid-rigging, market sharing and price fixing, schemes that have attracted significant public interest because of their potential to hurt consumers.
Cartel investigations can often take years to reach litigation, so it is truly an accomplishment that the Commission has brought three such cases to litigation in less than three years.
The Commission is also playing an increasingly active role internationally, sharing its experience with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was, by the way, one year ago this month that Hong Kong and ASEAN signed a free trade agreement, which will come into effect beginning in January. No doubt, the Commission will continue to expand its co-operation with ASEAN.
Earlier this year, the Commission was appointed co-chair of the International Competition Network Advocacy Working Group, with the goal of promoting a competition culture through non-enforcement means.
In short, ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong's Competition Commission is off to a fine start. I am grateful for its commitment to safeguarding the competitive heart of Hong Kong.
I am grateful, as well, for the Commission's organisation of this event, its first international conference.
I wish you a rewarding conference, and nothing but good business - and fair competition - in the coming year.
Ends/Thursday, November 1, 2018
Issued at HKT 11:26
Issued at HKT 11:26


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Ford is currently in London as part of a European tour to introduce and get consumers up-close and personal with their first electric vehicle (EV), the Ford Mustang Mach-e.
During the stop in London, Ford confirmed to Autoblog that the automaker plans to launch the new EV at the same in both North America and Europe in late 2020.
The European EV market is seen as possibly the second largest market for early adopters of EV’s. That’s due in part to the strict rules around CO2 emissions, that automakers must comply with or face heavy fines.
To that end, Ford has announced that by the end of 2021, they will have as many as 18 EV’s for sale, up from 14 they hope to have on the market in Europe by the end of 2020.
To help support the growth in sales of Ford EV’s in Europe over the coming years, they also announced plans to build 1,000 charging stations over the next 3 years. Ford also partnered with IONITY, which also has plans to build an additional 400 fast-charging stations in Europe before the end of the year.
Canadians prices for the Mustang Mach-E are in the range of $50,495CDN for the lowest ‘Select’ model, to $71,995CDN for the now sold-out 1st Edition.


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Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
There is blood on those flowers,
And on the chocolates too!
February 14th, Valentine’s Day, is seen as a celebration of the expression of love and affection. In the U.S., about $20 billion was spent last year and on average, an individual spent about $146. Nearly $2 billion was spent on flowers alone.
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of “romantic love” that, like Christmas, serves as an economic boom for a capitalist retail industry. As to be expected under capitalism, this love is expressed through material possessions and has been dutifully marketed by corporations that it should be expressed through red roses, chocolates and cards.
Valentine’s Day is the most profitable time for the flower and chocolate industries. What has yet to be publicized during this holiday of capitalist invention is the origin of all these flowers and chocolates. They certainly are not from your local garden nursery nor Hershey, PA. Like most commodities, these items are brought to the U.S. and white world from the blood and sweat of colonized workers worldwide.
Flower industry: Long history of exploitation!
Specifically, 60 percent of flowers in U.S. come from Colombia. In Ecuador, one-third of its flower imports are shipped for Valentine’s Day alone. Until recently selling its flower division, Dole Food Company (formerly known as Standard Fruit Company), the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, controlled the flower market.
Sanford Dole, the cousin of James Dole and the founder of what would become Dole Food Company, began exploitation in the Americas by overthrowing the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Sanford Dole was the first and only president of the provisional government of Hawaii that paved the way for its annexation and occupation by the U.S.
Chiquita Brands International, another parasitic capitalist corporation that is well-known as the largest producer of bananas, was also active at one time in the flower market. These companies have been responsible for countless murders of labor activist, the funding of paramilitary groups throughout Central and South America and even coups.
Dole has played a role in trafficking cocaine and fueling the Colombian civil war by funding whichever group serves its interests at a particular time.
Dole and Chiquita were implicated in 2009 for the overthrow of Manual Zeleya of Honduras because he dared to increase the country’s minimum wage. To speak about all the atrocities perpetrated by Dole and Chiquita is beyond this writing.
It was the reprehensible conduct that was being exposed coupled with dwindling profit margins that lead these companies out of the flower industry. Their actions have set the stage on how workers are treated in the flower industry, who typically work 12 hours a day bent over cutting flowers, de-thorning the flowers and packaging them for a few dollars’ a day.
While Central and South America dominate the capitalist consumption of the flower industry for the U.S., in Africa, Kenya provides more than 40 percent of Europe’s flowers. Kenyan flower laborers make less than a $1 a day.
This parasitism robs the people of these colonized countries of their wealth. The oppressed and colonized workers in these countries are forced to produce flowers for parasitic capitalist countries instead of using their arable land to feed themselves.
The majority of fresh flowers are given at this time of the year. This is no different from many of the other industries that the capitalist exploit like the chocolate industry.
Chocolate industry rampant with child labor and slavery!
West Africa supplies more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, the base ingredient for chocolate. The largest producer in West Africa is Ivory Coast where 60 percent of the Ivory Coast’s export revenue comes from its cocoa.
The average cocoa farmer makes less than $2 per day, but this is not even accurate because child labor and slavery are rampant on cocoa farms. It is repugnant that the majority of these cocoa workers have never even tasted chocolate.
The giant corporations of the chocolate industry Hershey’s, Nestle and Godiva have all been cited for using child and slave labor.
Nestle has a more peculiar history. The conglomerate that also sells bottled water was given permission to pump hundreds of millions of gallons of water from Michigan aquifers while the African people of Flint, Michigan were forced to pay for poisoned water. Recently, Nestle also lost a U.S. Supreme Court case that now allows it to be sued for its slave labor crimes in West Africa.
Today, Godiva is the gold standard for chocolate, but few know that it too is rooted in colonial violence. Godiva is considered the high-end brand of the chocolate industry because of its Belgium roots. King Leopold of Belgium held the Congo as his personal property. During the production of rubber, the Belgians committed numerous atrocities against Africans. Africans were mutilated with their hands cut off or even decapitated if they did not meet their daily quotas.
“Belgium chocolate” was considered the best because huge swaths of land in the Congo were reserved for the production of cocoa where Africans were enslaved. Similar mutilations happened on these farms as well. In fact, to this day chocolate hands can be purchased in Belgium shops––a distasteful and arrogant reference to the piles of hands of Africans cut off by the Belgians in its genocidal exploitation of the Congo.
Creating a new world free of capitalism!
The depth of destruction of human life for the pleasure of the oppressor nation cannot be adequately surmised in words. As Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People’s Socialist Party explains, the colonial assault on Africa and the Americas lays the basis for everything the white world possesses.
The waste of growing flowers and chocolate in places where there is not even clean water and food is scarce cannot be quantified. Capitalism must be destroyed so that the resources of the oppressed are used for their own interest not to make those in the oppressor nation feel “loved” for one day of the year.
Also undergirding this holiday is the colonized population’s collective use of something as innocuous as love to obscure the holiday from its exploitation of labor, land and other resources. Even the emotions of those who celebrate the holiday are being exploited in that capitalism creates an obligatory relationship where loved ones buy gifts for their love.
Only revolution can overturn this clear parasitic relationship the white world has with the colonized. In creating our revolutionary project, not only will we be responsible for taking back our resources but infusing revolutionary culture in every aspect of our life––even concepts like love.
Comandante Che Guevara said it best, “At the risk of sounding ridiculous, a true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”
This Valentine’s Day, instead of throwing your hard-earned resources to flowers and chocolates with the blood, sweat and tears of your colonized brothers and sisters, give your loved-one a subscription to The Burning Spear newspaper! Give them a true labor of love!


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SCUF is known for releasing amazing custom versions of video game controls like PlayStation and Xbox. With the arrival of a new generation of consoles, many were eager to launch the new custom controls. To the delight of fans, SCUF announced through its official Twitter account that they are already in production and will be released soon.
So far, the only control that works with PS5 games is the official DualSense control (which has gained two new official color options recently), with features like; special vibration and tension functions on the triggers.
It seems that the customized versions of SCUF can open the doors to other manufacturers of this technology, resulting in a possible downward trend of cost of the accessory. A few days ago, rumors had already surfaced that SCUF was working on a customization of DualSense and the video only confirms that the plans of the Corsair subsidiary are more extensive than we imagined.
According to suspicions, the new controls are expected to reach the U.S. market from the second half of 2021.


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Tuesday 23th September marks the return of the multi-award-winning lunch! show to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. With its focus on new innovations from across the food-to-go sector, this popular two-day trade event has garnered a loyal following among thousands of catering and food & beverage managers.
lunch! 2014 is already set to be the very biggest and best yet with its 300 stands already sold out to the industry’s most innovative suppliers, as well as record visitor registrations, on top of the 37% increase in visitors last year. Frequently cited by decision makers and buyers as their key annual event for discovering innovative new ideas and concepts, lunch! has won three best trade show awards along the way.
Who will be exhibiting?
From super-fresh ingredients, aromatic coffee, tasty cakes and pastries, nutritional meal solutions, to artisan breads, specialty cheeses, sauces, juices, and smoothies, plus specialist equipment, packaging, and the latest technology – lunch! is dedicated to presenting an all-inclusive range of the latest new products being launched into the market.
“lunch! just gets bigger and better each year. It has a great mix of suppliers covering a range of categories, enabling me to keep up with trends and innovation within the industry,” says Andrew Rose, head of purchasing at CaffÑ Nero, echoing the sentiments of many of lunch!’s repeat customers.
Working lunch! Theatre
The show’s Working lunch! Theatre (sponsored by Magrini) is renowned for attracting ‘inspirational’ big names from across the catering industry, and this year is no exception. Confirmed speakers include Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of Leon and a founding director of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Steve Flanagan, UK marketing and category director at Starbucks, Martyn Herriott, executive director, Beverage Standards Association, and Sarah Doyle, brand director at EAT (who oversaw EAT.’s recent brand revamp).
Martin Hambleton, head of procurement & innovation at En Route International, will also be adding lunch! speaker duties to his impressive resumé (he has held senior buying positions at Elior UK, EAT. and DO&CO). As a buyer, Hambleton has been an “avid supporter of lunch! since the conception”, calling it “the best trade show a buyer can attend”. As a speaker, his ‘Buying Masterclass’ looks set to prove just as essential (on Wednesday 24th September).
To register for your free ticket in advance, please click here (https://www.eventdata.co.uk/Visitor/Lunch.aspx?TrackingCode=UB71) and for more information visit www.lunchshow.co.uk


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Coronavirus infections would certainly dive if 80 percent of people used masks, study states face mask 7 elastic
Infections would absolutely dive if 80 percent of people using masks, research claims– New York Rouses Point–.
face mask levels.
In the air, there are different fragments of dirt as well as irritants that can trigger significant injury to the human body. Although no person can control this, they can take safety measures to manage the scenario. PPE masks can filter out more than 95% of air particles, vapors, and odors. It additionally helps address the trouble of the coronavirus clinically. Individuals that have signs of the condition will certainly typically cough and also sneeze. A face mask to secure against viruses will prevent the launch of breathing drops into the air or spread to an additional individual.
Online face mask sell shop.
Make certain to use a mask when you are in a crowded place; You need to likewise keep it while you exist. If you care about an unwell liked one, after that you should likewise secure on your own with a mask. You ought to additionally utilize one if you know that you are sick to avoid the transmission of the virus to your enjoyed ones.


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YuppTV Application now available on VIZIO Smart TVs
• Viewers can benefit from 200+ channels in 12 South Asia languages
By: Concept PR
This is an initiative taken by YuppTV as part of its continued endeavor to reach out to consumers across the world. At the touch of a button, the most comprehensive South Asian content, which has enabled YuppTV to grow into the world’s leading over-the-top (OTT) content player, will now be available to viewers using VIZIO Smart TVs.
With the launch of YuppTV app on VIZIO Smart TVs, viewers can benefit from 200+ channels in 12 South Asian languages available worldwide, as Live TV, and ten days of Catch-up TV and unlimited movies in different genres from leading production houses make this an unbeatable offering for viewers connected to South Asia. YuppTV application on VIZIO Smart TVs will be available for customers in U.S., Canada & Mexico region.
Speaking about the launch, Mr. Uday Reddy, CEO of YuppTV said, “We’re glad to add yet another leading television manufacturer to our list of choices for the benefit of consumers. VIZIO Smart TV’s products are well-recognized in the market and we are confident the launch will give our customers many reasons to rejoice as they enjoy the entertainment they love.”
John Schindler, Vice President of Product Management, VIZIO said, “VIZIO is excited to offer YuppTV on its Smart TV platform, VIZIO Internet Apps Plus. For VIZIO consumers looking to stream South Asian content, YuppTV is a great fit and adds yet another entertainment option to VIZIO’s already robust app collection.”
The mission of YuppTV is to make it simple and instant for consumers to enjoy their favorite entertainment options on any device at anytime and anywhere in the world. With this launch on VIZIO Smart TV, YuppTV has enabled content providers to reach a growing customer base.
1The NPD Group / Weekly Tracking Service, Flat Panel TV units with Apps included, Dec 30 2012 – May 24 2014
YuppTV is one of the largest internet TV providers of South Asian Content. YuppTV delivers more than 200 live South Asian TV channels in 12 South Asian languages, worldwide. Users can watch live TV, 10 days of Catch-up TV and enjoy unlimited Indian movies anytime anywhere.
For more information visit us at: www.yupptv.com


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NWTexnet is proud to be working in partnership with the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) on a new apprenticeship focussing on the needs of people who either design, build commission or maintain textile machinery.
NW Texnet director Steve Kay says: “The number of new apprentices coming into the sector has been declining for many years, and the age profile of workers has steadily increased. BTMA members highlighted this as a significant factor driving their businesses in a recent survey. We feel that an apprenticeship written in partnership with employers and specifically designed to meet the needs of the sector will help to redress the balance.”
Work is underway with the accountable body for textile sector skills, UK Fashion and Textiles, and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to get the new standard up and running in late 2020.


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In a patent filed back in Q1 of 2011, it looks like HTC could be introducing an iPod Touch competitor in a market where Apple remains largely unchallenged. The device detailed in the patent shows it will come without broadband networking capabilities making this a WiFi-only handset. Design cues seem to follow HTC’s older style with a mix between the Vivid’s pyramid shaped back and the Thunderbolt’s speaker grill.
And speaking of speakers, HTC seems to be taking the original idea from their HTC Surround and running with it. You’ll notice this guy features slide-out rear and front facing speakers making this an ideal media player for watching movies, listening to music or playing games.
What better time to drop this device onto the masses than right now when Google is diving head first into the digital media market. What do you guys think? If priced — and more importantly spec’d right, would you consider this device to compliment your Android lineup?


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Report: Q4 Flat-Panel HDTV Sales Double31 Jan, 2007 By: Erik Gruenwedel
Spurred by early adopters' desire for 1080p high-definition televisions, sales of flat-panel HDTV displays in North America doubled (up 101%) during the fourth quarter, compared to the same period last year, according to new data released by Pacific Media Associates (PMA).
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based research firm said more than 30% of flat-panel HDTV units sold during the quarter featured upgraded 1080p (versus 1080i) resolution, which is reportedly capable of displaying every pixel of a highest-resolution HD broadcast or packaged media, including Blu-ray and HD DVD.
PMA said 1080p resolution is predominately featured in LCD screens, and that demand for the more expensive resolution has grown rapidly; just six months ago, it accounted for just 5% of the total HDTV unit sales.
“In December, we saw the average street price for consumer models rise slightly over November's average even though prices for many individual models continued to decline,” said Rosemary Abowd, PMA VP. “The reason for the increase in average street price was due to buyers moving to premium-priced models, higher resolutions, and bigger screen sizes.”
Abowd said revenue for December grew 2% over November, resulting in the highest revenue for the year.
The report cited the Panasonic TH-42PX60U, a 42-inch plasma HDTV with an average street price of $1,331, as the top-selling HDTV.


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Thursday, October 10, 2013
It would appear that the Republican Party is unwilling to deal with the mad men prepared to drive the country straight off a cliff, and while an impending credit default, the totally screwed-up inability of the government to pay death benefits to the families of those killed in combat, the closing of the national parks, and all the other totally avoidable stupid bullshit that's been a part of this fiasco are bad enough, it turns out these morons are keeping us from enjoying new and delicious craft beer now as well:
Stores will still offer plenty of suds. But the shutdown has closed an obscure agency that quietly approves new breweries, recipes and labels, which could create huge delays throughout the rapidly growing craft industry, whose customers expect a constant supply of inventive and seasonal beers....
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, is a little-known arm of the Treasury Department. The agency will continue to process taxes from existing permit holders, but applications for anything new are in limbo.
"One could think of this shutdown as basically stopping business indefinitely for anyone who didn't have certain paperwork in place back in mid-August," said Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, which represents more than 1,900 U.S. breweries....
The closing isn't expected to have much effect on industry giants such as MillerCoors or Anheuser-Busch. They can continue to produce existing products as usual. But the shutdown poses a huge problem for craft brewers, who build their businesses by producing quirky, offbeat flavors and introducing new seasonal beers, sometimes as often as every quarter.
GET THE PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES READY, PEOPLE. It's time to fix this mess right now, one way or another. I'm definitely not cool with total economic collapse and I get that those Tea Party types aren't generally into drinking or fun or whatever, but if this crap is going to stand in the way of beers I haven't had the chance to enjoy, I'm not going to be able to cope terribly well.


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The days of cars running on petrol and diesel have long been numbered, with the age of the electric vehicle right around the corner – but this has yet to become a reality on the roads.
Despite the widely held belief that EVs are the future, why haven't more people made the shift?
The National asked experts about what needs to happen before owning an EV becomes the norm for the majority of motorists, rather than the exception.
“One of the main issues has got to be about infrastructure and the ability for consumers to be able to charge their car as easily as they can fill up at the petrol station,” said Nicolas Soucaille, general manager of UAE e-limousine company Blacklane.
“That’s something that needs to improve in this part of the world. We’re a little bit behind the likes of Europe but the UAE is adapting and, as you can see with Cop28, the ambition is there to move quickly on this.”
He made his comments from the sidelines of the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit, taking place this week at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
Earlier this month, the UAE announced plans were under way to introduce cheaper and faster EV charging stations.
Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said plans were in place to increase the number of charging stations to 800 in the year ahead, news agency Wam reported.
This came as demand for EVs in the UAE was projected to grow at a compound rate of 30 per cent every year until 2028, according to the global electric mobility readiness index.
Mr Al Mazrouei told the summit this week that EV sales were increasing and now accounted for 1 per cent of the vehicles on UAE roads.
EV sales were projected to reach 14 million this year, up from 10 million last year, according to a report last month from the International Energy Agency.
But challenges remain.
“If you live in a villa today, then it’s very easy to be able to charge your car,” said Mr Soucaille.
“That’s not the case for those living in apartments though as not all towers would have the charging infrastructure needed to convert those residents into EV owners.
“The difficulty for many is where will they find a charger.”
Range anxiety with EVs is well documented. The worry that you will run out of charge before reaching your destination is something that has long been a conundrum for those in the sector.
It remains perhaps the biggest single issue surrounding EVs, not only in the UAE, but all over the world.
In Norway, where 80 per cent of all new car sales are EVs, the challenge of finding charging stations still rages, according to a recent report in The New York Times.
The Scandinavian country plans to stop selling all internal combustion engine cars by 2025.
However, the issue around the availability of charging stations remains a thorn in the industry’s side, with EV drivers there complaining about long queues during peak hours as well as faulty chargers.
In Abu Dhabi, there are plans under way to provide 70,000 charging points by 2030 to meet the growing EV demand.
Another issue is finding locations that can provide the power needed, another expert said.
“You need to have power available at locations before you have a charging station there and that’s not always simple,” said Vinay Premachandran, director of EV solutions firm Powertech.
“It can also take a long time to charge up a vehicle and that time needs to improve until it’s comparable [with an internal combustion engine].”
Tesla’s website said its own supercharger can provide up to 320 kilometres of charge in 15 minutes.
Recent advancements, he added, means charging times are being reduced constantly.
It is inevitable that EVs will eventually be more common on roads than internal combustion engine vehicles – it was simply a matter of when, he said.
Another roadblock is the perception that EVs were too expensive and beyond the financial reach of most, said another expert at the summit.
“The availability of products at the right price point has been a challenge but that is changing,” said Arvind CJ, partner at consultant firm Roland Berger.
“You are seeing more products available in the UAE than before and there are plans to significantly increase the number of charging stations as well.”


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Ghanaian accountant, entrepreneur and politician, Hassan Ayariga, has opened up his plush collection of cars to the general public.
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The founder of the All People's Congress political party was speaking in an interview with Kofi TV's Kofi Adoma Nwanwani when he spoke about his cars.
The wealthy politician opened up his garage and showed a very familiar car - Cadillac 1948 Roaster - which was featured over the weekend at a plush wedding.
Hassan Ayariga indicated that the car was the same one used in the wedding between business mogul Kojo Jones and his sweetheart, Raychel Osei.
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The Ghanaian politician maintained that Kojo Jones was his son and decided to give him the car to use on his big day.
Speaking about the car, Hassan Ayariga indicated that the car was the only one in Africa and one of five in the whole world.
Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in


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|By PR Newswire||
|February 25, 2013 12:42 PM EST||
RESTON, Va., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, today released the 2013 Mobile Future in Focus report. This annual report examines the U.S. mobile and connected device landscape in 2012, highlighting trends that have shaped mobile media consumption and shifted market dynamics across mobile networks, platforms, and OEMs. The report also includes key mobile market insights from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
"2013 was a watershed year for mobile, with smartphones surpassing 50 percent penetration and tablets continuing to gain traction," said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP for Mobile. "As consumers incorporate these devices into their daily diet of digital media consumption, marketers and media companies are challenged to confront this emerging multi-platform paradigm. Having a clear view of today's digital landscape – and particularly the rapidly expanding usage of mobile devices – will be critical to success in the year ahead."
To download a complimentary copy of the 2013 Mobile Future in Focus report, please visit: http://www.comscore.com/MobileFutureinFocus2013
Key insights from the 2013 Mobile Future in Focus include:
Multi-Platform Dynamics Shape the 'Brave New Digital World'
- With smartphones surpassing 125 million U.S. consumers and tablets now owned by more than 50 million, we have crossed into the Brave New Digital World – a new paradigm of digital media fragmentation in which consumers are always connected. comScore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform (Beta), which provides an unduplicated view of digital media audiences and consumption across desktop computers, smartphones and tablets, reveals that more than one out of every three minutes online is now spent on devices beyond the PC.
Smartphones Surpass 50 Percent Penetration and Break Into 'Late Majority' of Adopters
- 2012 was a milestone year for the U.S. smartphone market as it finally surpassed 50 percent market penetration and now enters the "late majority" stage of the technology adoption curve. The number of smartphone subscribers has increased 29 percent from a year ago and 99 percent from two years ago. Not only does the market's current ownership profile reflect a smartphone majority, but 72 percent of all newly-acquired devices are now smartphones.
Android and iOS Control U.S. Smartphone Market
- Google's Android OS, which has been adopted by multiple OEMs, and Apple's iOS, which is carried exclusively on iPhones, have come to dominate the U.S. smartphone landscape with nearly 90 percent of the market today. This market share dominance is being reinforced by the two platforms' well-developed app ecosystems, making it even more difficult for the competing platforms to narrow the gap.
Samsung Makes Splash in Smartphone OEM Market
- Apple continues to gain ground as the leading smartphone OEM, but Samsung has seen the most explosive growth in this market over the past couple of years with a year-over-year increase of more than 100 percent and a two-year increase of more than 400 percent. While Apple maintains a healthy lead over #2 Samsung, the gap has been steadily narrowing during a year in which the rivalry heated up between the two smartphone OEM leaders.
High-Speed Mobile Connectivity Has Unleashed Mobile Content Consumption
- The improved availability of high-speed Internet access has significantly enhanced the average user's media consumption experience, contributing to a rapid uptick in mobile media consumption. Default Wi-Fi accessibility for smartphones and tablets has not only off-loaded bandwidth from networks, but has also contributed to a better on-premise (e.g. in-home) browsing experience for users. While Wi-Fi usage has become more prevalent, networks speeds have also improved with 4G and LTE technology as an increasing number of phones on the market are enabled for these speeds.
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
SOURCE comScore, Inc.
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.
Jul. 29, 2015 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 237
The Internet of Things is not only adding billions of sensors and billions of terabytes to the Internet. It is also forcing a fundamental change in the way we envision Information Technology. For the first time, more data is being created by devices at the edge of the Internet rather than from centralized systems. What does this mean for today's IT professional? In this Power Panel at @ThingsExpo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists addressed this very serious issue of profound change in the industry.
Jul. 29, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,255
Discussions about cloud computing are evolving into discussions about enterprise IT in general. As enterprises increasingly migrate toward their own unique clouds, new issues such as the use of containers and microservices emerge to keep things interesting. In this Power Panel at 16th Cloud Expo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists addressed the state of cloud computing today, and what enterprise IT professionals need to know about how the latest topics and trends affect their organization.
Jul. 29, 2015 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,169
SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jul. 29, 2015 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 422
For IoT to grow as quickly as analyst firms’ project, a lot is going to fall on developers to quickly bring applications to market. But the lack of a standard development platform threatens to slow growth and make application development more time consuming and costly, much like we’ve seen in the mobile space. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mike Weiner, Product Manager of the Omega DevCloud with KORE Telematics Inc., discussed the evolving requirements for developers as IoT matures and conducted a live demonstration of how quickly application development can happen when the need to comply wit...
Jul. 29, 2015 07:30 AM EDT Reads: 278
Explosive growth in connected devices. Enormous amounts of data for collection and analysis. Critical use of data for split-second decision making and actionable information. All three are factors in making the Internet of Things a reality. Yet, any one factor would have an IT organization pondering its infrastructure strategy. How should your organization enhance its IT framework to enable an Internet of Things implementation? In his session at @ThingsExpo, James Kirkland, Red Hat's Chief Architect for the Internet of Things and Intelligent Systems, described how to revolutionize your archit...
Jul. 28, 2015 06:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,377
It is one thing to build single industrial IoT applications, but what will it take to build the Smart Cities and truly society-changing applications of the future? The technology won’t be the problem, it will be the number of parties that need to work together and be aligned in their motivation to succeed. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Jason Mondanaro, Director, Product Management at Metanga, discussed how you can plan to cooperate, partner, and form lasting all-star teams to change the world and it starts with business models and monetization strategies.
Jul. 28, 2015 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,755
Converging digital disruptions is creating a major sea change - Cisco calls this the Internet of Everything (IoE). IoE is the network connection of People, Process, Data and Things, fueled by Cloud, Mobile, Social, Analytics and Security, and it represents a $19Trillion value-at-stake over the next 10 years. In her keynote at @ThingsExpo, Manjula Talreja, VP of Cisco Consulting Services, discussed IoE and the enormous opportunities it provides to public and private firms alike. She will share what businesses must do to thrive in the IoE economy, citing examples from several industry sectors.
Jul. 28, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,036
Growth hacking is common for startups to make unheard-of progress in building their business. Career Hacks can help Geek Girls and those who support them (yes, that's you too, Dad!) to excel in this typically male-dominated world. Get ready to learn the facts: Is there a bias against women in the tech / developer communities? Why are women 50% of the workforce, but hold only 24% of the STEM or IT positions? Some beginnings of what to do about it! In her Opening Keynote at 16th Cloud Expo, Sandy Carter, IBM General Manager Cloud Ecosystem and Developers, and a Social Business Evangelist, d...
Jul. 27, 2015 09:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,040
There will be 150 billion connected devices by 2020. New digital businesses have already disrupted value chains across every industry. APIs are at the center of the digital business. You need to understand what assets you have that can be exposed digitally, what their digital value chain is, and how to create an effective business model around that value chain to compete in this economy. No enterprise can be complacent and not engage in the digital economy. Learn how to be the disruptor and not the disruptee.
Jul. 27, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,021
Akana has released Envision, an enhanced API analytics platform that helps enterprises mine critical insights across their digital eco-systems, understand their customers and partners and offer value-added personalized services. “In today’s digital economy, data-driven insights are proving to be a key differentiator for businesses. Understanding the data that is being tunneled through their APIs and how it can be used to optimize their business and operations is of paramount importance,” said Alistair Farquharson, CTO of Akana.
Jul. 27, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 312
Business as usual for IT is evolving into a "Make or Buy" decision on a service-by-service conversation with input from the LOBs. How does your organization move forward with cloud? In his general session at 16th Cloud Expo, Paul Maravei, Regional Sales Manager, Hybrid Cloud and Managed Services at Cisco, discusses how Cisco and its partners offer a market-leading portfolio and ecosystem of cloud infrastructure and application services that allow you to uniquely and securely combine cloud business applications and services across multiple cloud delivery models.
Jul. 27, 2015 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,895
The enterprise market will drive IoT device adoption over the next five years. In his session at @ThingsExpo, John Greenough, an analyst at BI Intelligence, division of Business Insider, analyzed how companies will adopt IoT products and the associated cost of adopting those products. John Greenough is the lead analyst covering the Internet of Things for BI Intelligence- Business Insider’s paid research service. Numerous IoT companies have cited his analysis of the IoT. Prior to joining BI Intelligence, he worked analyzing bank technology for Corporate Insight and The Clearing House Payment...
Jul. 26, 2015 09:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,560
In his keynote at 16th Cloud Expo, Rodney Rogers, CEO of Virtustream, discussed the evolution of the company from inception to its recent acquisition by EMC – including personal insights, lessons learned (and some WTF moments) along the way. Learn how Virtustream’s unique approach of combining the economics and elasticity of the consumer cloud model with proper performance, application automation and security into a platform became a breakout success with enterprise customers and a natural fit for the EMC Federation.
Jul. 26, 2015 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,142
"Optimal Design is a technology integration and product development firm that specializes in connecting devices to the cloud," stated Joe Wascow, Co-Founder & CMO of Optimal Design, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Jul. 25, 2015 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 380
SYS-CON Events announced today that CommVault has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. A singular vision – a belief in a better way to address current and future data management needs – guides CommVault in the development of Singular Information Management® solutions for high-performance data protection, universal availability and simplified management of data on complex storage networks. CommVault's exclusive single-platform architecture gives companies unp...
Jul. 25, 2015 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,947
Electric Cloud and Arynga have announced a product integration partnership that will bring Continuous Delivery solutions to the automotive Internet-of-Things (IoT) market. The joint solution will help automotive manufacturers, OEMs and system integrators adopt DevOps automation and Continuous Delivery practices that reduce software build and release cycle times within the complex and specific parameters of embedded and IoT software systems.
Jul. 25, 2015 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 446
"ciqada is a combined platform of hardware modules and server products that lets people take their existing devices or new devices and lets them be accessible over the Internet for their users," noted Geoff Engelstein of ciqada, a division of Mars International, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Jul. 25, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,523
Internet of Things is moving from being a hype to a reality. Experts estimate that internet connected cars will grow to 152 million, while over 100 million internet connected wireless light bulbs and lamps will be operational by 2020. These and many other intriguing statistics highlight the importance of Internet powered devices and how market penetration is going to multiply many times over in the next few years.
Jul. 25, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,481
SYS-CON Events announced today that Dyn, the worldwide leader in Internet Performance, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Dyn is a cloud-based Internet Performance company. Dyn helps companies monitor, control, and optimize online infrastructure for an exceptional end-user experience. Through a world-class network and unrivaled, objective intelligence into Internet conditions, Dyn ensures traffic gets delivered faster, safer, and more reliably than ever.
Jul. 24, 2015 11:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,050


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(Quoted from Roland DGA. Full article here.)
Roland DGA, a leading provider of wide-format inkjet printers and other advanced digital devices, has announced the launch of its new VersaSTUDIO BN-20A desktop printer/cutter. Based on the company’s best-selling VersaSTUDIO BN-20, the new BN-20A offers the most popular features at an even lower price.
Click here to read the full article


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The publishing industry is looking toward technology communities to foster innovation around mobile products. While the concept doesn’t seem like something new, the way in which companies are approaching the tech community is.
Last week, Hearst Magazines introduced a new competition that courts the New York mobile development community by inviting them to build mobile apps in a 24-hour hackathon during Fashion Week in New York City. As previously reported by Folio:, the competition emerged from Hearst’s development team and tech product managers who are continually challenged to come up with new ideas for mobile products and innovative technology solutions for the magazine brands.
The winner of the contest gets a $10,000 grand prize and potential mentorship and financing to take the idea further. Hearst estimates that more than 150 developers will take part in the contest.
In addition to Hearst, Condé Nast announced Tuesday that it will also present a fashion hackathon during Fashion Week in early February. The competition will give engineers, graphic designers and entrepreneurs 24 hours to create an app or startup concept that solves a pivotal industry problem.
Over 550 developers, graphic designers and entrepreneurs are registered for the Condé Nast event, with about 100 teams expected to submit their ideas. The top three teams will present their concept on the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and the winning team will receive $10,000 and the chance to have its app launched by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Condé Nast and Hearst aren’t the only ones crowdsourcing innovation. Bonnier Corporation’s digital publishing platform provider Mag+ is inviting iOS developers to crack open its code and build new Mag+ reader apps.
Mag+’s ”Unleash the Content, Build Your Dream App,” contest makes available Mag+’s new iOS App software development kit (SDK) to developers worldwide on a non-commercial license to allow them to re-imagine the platform’s reader app. More than $20,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to three innovative apps built with the SDK. The development window for the contest runs from Feb. 8 to Feb. 22.


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A Scouse clubber got more than he bargained for when his tweet to a Liverpool nightclub backfired in a big way.
Taking to Twitter ahead of a night out on Saturday user @TomSee123 tweeted Baa Bar nightclub, which is based on Fleet Street asking if a pair of shoes would be acceptable to be allowed into the venue.
The photo of was a pair of Firetrap shoes, a brand usually unpopular with Scousers.
But, the nightclub responded in the only way many Scousers know how - with sarcasm, of course.
In its tweet @BaaBarFleetSt said: "They're fine mate but we don't have any bowling lanes."
The tweet has gained a huge response for people who are absolutely loving how brutal the response. It's now gained more than 3,000 retweets and more than 14,000 likes.
Although this isn't stop @TomSee123 there who later tweeted the club asked for a freebie for the embarassment.
He said: "@BaaBarFleetSt getting absolutely rinsed here! Free drink or vip card for my troubles? #DiggingOutTheReceiptForThoseShoes"
Seeing the funny side user Tom has now listed the 'famous' shoes on eBay with all money raised going to charity, with the nightclub encouraging people to help him raise funds.
You can view the listing here.